[OnePlus Blog] The REAL Surprise is the Indian Pricing of the 8 Pro, not the 8!

The 8’s price tag is surprising, the 8 Pro’s is super!

OnePlus surprised several people when it announced the prices of the OnePlus the OnePlus 8, the OnePlus 8 Pro for the Indian market. Given the fact that the OnePlus 8 started at USD 699 (Rs 53,400), the 8 Pro at USD 899 (Rs 68,600 approx), most Indian consumers were bracing themselves for a high price shock. Past trends did indicate that India – which is perhaps OnePlus’ most important market – would get a far more competitive price. But the general air in the country was full of cynicism.

In the event, OnePlus pulled a price rabbit out of its hat, with much lower prices in India. The OnePlus 8 started at Rs 41,999, and the 8 Pro at Rs 54,999. Interestingly, though the base model of the OnePlus 8 series was a 6 GB/ 128 GB variant, as compared to the 8 GB/ 128 GB one in the US. But still, these were amazingly lower prices – in fact, even the 8 GB / 128 GB variant of the OnePlus 8 in India is priced at Rs 44,999, which translates roughly into USD 590, much lower than the US price.

OnePlus pricing: The 8 is good…

Of course, most of the attention has been taken by the pricing of the OnePlus 8, which now starts slightly below the iPhone SE in India. However, for us, the real achievement of OnePlus in pricing terms has been the pricing of the OnePlus 8 Pro, and the Bullets Wireless Z. Let us cast an eye back on the pricing of the OnePlus 7 series in 2019:

Now, if you notice, the OnePlus 8, whose pricing has grabbed a lot of attention, largely because of the pricing of the iPhone SE, we suspect, has actually increased by about Rs 4,000 over the OnePlus 7T, its predecessor. And that is to be expected – after all, the OnePlus 7T itself was priced about Rs 5,000 above the OnePlus 7. In fact, OnePlus’ price movement upwards in India before the introduction of the Pro series, generally has been in segments of Rs 2,000-5,000. The OnePlus 6, for instance, was launched at Rs 34,999 and the 6T at Rs 37,999. The OnePlus 5 and the 5T, on the other hand, were both launched at Rs 32,999. What’s more, phone prices are expected to be higher in India now following the imposition of a higher GST.

…but check its bro, the 8 Pro!

Now, take a look at the pricing of the OnePlus 8 Pro. At its starting price of Rs 54,999, it is just Rs 1,000 above the starting price of the OnePlus 7T Pro. Yes, people will point out that the OnePlus 7T Pro had more storage (256 GB) in its only variant, but on the flip side, that was indeed the only variant available for the 7T Pro in India. Here users have 8GB /128 GB and 12 GB / 256 GB variants, and to be honest, we have seen most users being ready to compromise more easily on storage than RAM at these price points. In fact, the 12 GB/ 256 GB variant of the OnePlus 7 Pro, the first device in OnePlus’ Pro series started was Rs 57,999. The OnePlus 8 Pro’s 12 GB/ 256 GB variant, on the other hand, is priced at Rs 59,999. When you consider the exchange rates and the increase in general sale tax in India in recent times, OnePlus seems to have really pulled off something special here.

In fact, OnePlus has even gone against its recent trend of offering its best prices in its home market of China. The OnePlus 7T Pro, for instance, started at 4599 Yuan, which was close to Rs 50,000, well below the Rs 53,999 tag in India. The OnePlus 7T was even lower at 2999 Yuan, which was around Rs 28,000. Now compare that with the OnePlus 8 which started at 3999 Yuan (about Rs 43,000) and the OnePlus 8 Pro, which started at 5399 Yuan (about Rs 58,500). Yes, the OnePlus 8 starts at a slightly lower price in India but the price differential in the OnePlus 8 Pro is far more significant, we think.

In fact, the starting price of the OnePlus 8 Pro at Rs 54,999 in India is close to the starting price of the OnePlus 8 in the US (roughly Rs 53,400), and the price of the top-end OnePlus 8 Pro (12 GB/ 256 GB) at Rs 59,999 is close to its starting variant in China (roughly Rs 58,500).

And if that does not tell you the kind of match magic OnePlus has pulled off for the OnePlus 8 Pro, nothing will. Yes, the OnePlus 8 will get more attention in terms of pricing, but the real pricing coup in India has been by its Pro brother.